Mr Brightside
by Punk Alchemist
Summary: Cloud Strife reflects on the past in a flower field, and meets something unexpected... Zack/Cloud friendship. Rated T for language. Set post Advent Children. Happy b-day Cloud :D


Mr. Brightside

Yup, you guessed it, this fic is inspired by the song "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers. :] Honestly, I just liked the title,

so that's pretty much the only related element between the story and the song ^^;;

Disclaimer: Nu, I do not own Cloud Strife, nor any other chararcter(s) featured in this story. Because,

let's face it, if I did...the Final Fantasy games would be a bit....different ;] Please enjoy :)

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Cloud Strife could honestly and truly say that he wasn't much of an optimist. In fact, if one knew him well enough, they may even be as bold to call him a pessimist. Though, honestly, he didn't see the point of looking on the bright side of life when it just seemed turn around and fuck you over...

Sure, Sephiroth was 'defeated', but for how long? When would he come back next, and how much more powerful would he be? No way he would give up just like that. Sure, Tifa had told him countless times to "not be such a worrywart" and forget about it. If he came back, he would be dealt with accordingly. Cloud wasn't quite sure how it would go next time. Sephiroth had ripped some of the most precious elements of his sad existence right from beneath him. Aerith, for one, had been killed at the hand of Sephiroth. His best friend, Zack Fair, had suffered trying to save Cloud's sorry ass... How many more people would have to be sacrificed, just to be momentarily rid of the one-winged angel...?

At the moment, Strife found solace in a small garden just outside of town. The lazy afternoon sun had sunk behind the clouds for now, a cool breeze enticing the tall flowers to dance. Cloud could almost fall asleep, lying in the immense garden filled with wildflowers. It was...peaceful. The blonde sat up, glancing at his surroundings. There sat Fenrir, just a few yards off. His sword was wedged into the ground next to him. He frowned, then lay back again, closing his eyes. He had almost thought... well, never mind the thought... The moment reminded him of something very important Zack had told him, quite some time ago...

_"Embrace your dreams...If you want to be a hero, you need to have dreams..."_

His voice rang out clear and loud in Strife's head, and...it had almost felt as if Fair had been right beside him... Though he knew, of course, that that was impossible. It was just a memory he refused to push to the back of his mind and pretend to forget about. Someone that had been an important part of your life who...dies...let alone dies protecting you and proclaiming you their 'living legacy'....that's not exactly something you can really forget about....

Cloud's cell phone began to ring, but he ignored it, going so far as to remove it from his pocket and dispense it a good distance away from him so he wouldn't have to hear it. The ring tone had annoyed him, anyway. Damn Reno for playing with his phone...

Strife turned so he laid on his stomach, away from the sky. It reminded him of too many painful memories. His mako enhanced eyes instead focused on a trail of ants carrying food on their backs, going around a small leaf in their path. Cloud gently picked up the leaf with his fingertips, and watched the ants freeze for a brief second, slightly frazzled, it seemed, before running around wildly. The blonde raised an eyebrow, watching as one ant had clambered onto the leaf. He looked at the ant curiously, wondering why it wasn't down below, scrambling like a chicken with it's head cut off like the rest of its colony. Strife shook his head, placing the leaf on a blade of grass, watching as the ant crawled down the green blade and back towards the small anthill. Peculiar, but he was left with no time as to speculate why.

Cloud heard a small rustle a few feet away from him, and he automatically jumped up, his sword clamped tightly in his hands. The rustling grew closer, but not much louder. Before he had the chance to swing his sword, he was bombarded by...

A puppy.

Cloud blinked in disbelief. A puppy...? Really? That's what had caused him to stir from his peace...? The small thing barked at Strife, wagging its tail excitedly. The blonde wedged his sword back in the dirt, picking it up. It was a scruffy thing, that was for sure. He wasn't sure if the color of its coat was caused by caked on dirt or just naturally black in color. It barked again, trying its best to lick at the ex-SOLDIER's face. Cloud sat down again, checking underneath the pup's thick fur for a collar. Nothing. So he was a stray pup. He frowned. What a pain. He couldn't just leave the damn thing out her by itself. It would probably get eaten or run over by a careless driver. He didn't need that on his conscience, too.

Cloud looked over at Fenrir, then at the puppy. The only problem would be getting it home safely, without it flailing around and becoming roadkill on the street. Walking towards Fenrir, he sat on the bike, looking around as to where he might be able to put it. As if on cue, the puppy hopped into the small pack on the back of the bike, popping his head out and barking at Cloud. The blonde sat there for a few seconds, feeling rather foolish that he hadn't thought of that first...

When he got home, he removed the puppy from the pouch, rushing through the house to his room, putting the puppy on his bed. It barked at him, and he shushed it, frowning. What the _hell _had inclined him to pick up a stray dog? I mean, he'd seen tons of them before, so why had he just decided that this one needed him most? It may have gotten picked up by someone later, who probably could have provided just as good a home, if not better than Cloud. So why...? He looked hard at it. Something...there was just something about it... He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but...he had felt somehow responsible. The puppy had been drawn to him, so maybe... Well, screw fate. He was much too old to believe in destiny and bonded fates. It had been a pure incident, that was all. A pure incident that left him stuck with a dog and a pool full of memories that swore to pull him down into it's icy depths to drown him...

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A/N: Well, I'm hoping it wasn't _too _sad. :) Cloud needed to have a somewhat happy birthday present. Reviews equal love. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Flames will be used to warm me in the wintertime. :)


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